SpaceX asks permission to take Starship on a high-altitude test flight

One of the next major steps in SpaceX's plans for true spaceflight will be a 12-mile-high test flight. Sometime between March and September, the company plans to launch its Starship suborbital test vehicle from Boca Chica, Texas. The Starship will tr...

Solar-powered aircraft stays aloft for record-breaking 25 days

While Facebook and Google recently pulled the plug on their solar-powered internet drones, another company with a lot more experience is having success with the idea. Airbus announced that its solar-powered Zephyr S HAPS (high altitude pseudo-satelli...

NASA to study hurricanes with unmanned Global Hawk aircraft starting this year

NASA to study hurricanes with unmanned aircraft starting this year

From the precursor to our future robot overlords to a galactic collision that just might ruin the day of our future descendants, NASA's been focused on extraterrestrial matters as of late. Still, the space agency isn't about to ignore its own backyard, announcing plans to send unmanned aircraft above hurricanes starting this summer to beef up its environmental science know-how. NASA's Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel (HS3) program is commissioning two of its Global Hawks for the job -- one for sampling storm environments and another for measuring stuff such as rainband winds and precipitation. The goal is to gather data that will help researchers better understand storm intensity and how hurricanes form. While NASA's at it, perhaps it can also research why TV reporters feel the need to deliver those comical field reports while being buffeted by hurricane winds. Then again, we highly doubt there's a logical explanation for that. As always, feel free to peruse the PR after the break for more details.

Continue reading NASA to study hurricanes with unmanned Global Hawk aircraft starting this year

NASA to study hurricanes with unmanned Global Hawk aircraft starting this year originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jun 2012 18:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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